The St. Johns County Bar Association handed out pro bono awards earlier this month.

In presenting the honors, it was noted that, several years ago when financial hardships hit the community, the Bar stepped up and helped those in need. 2012 marked a record number of winners, with those honored logging 100 hours or more of service.

Recipients this year included:

■ Jim Kowalski, recognized for the fourth year since he began the “consumer defense pro bono program.” He also just accepted the position of executive director of Jacksonville Area Legal Aid.

■ Rusty Collins received his fourth honor, marking an honor for each year he’s been an attorney. Collins has approximately 100 pro bono cases going at any given time, logs hundreds of hours each year pro bono, and was described as a man who cannot say no to any client with a hard luck story.

■ Tania Schmidt-Alpers is a five-year recipient, and she is also the Seventh Circuit Pro Bono Award winner. This is an honor given before the Florida Supreme Court each year. Schmidt-Alpers has a small federal grant administered through the Violence Against Woman Act and the Victims of Crime Act to pay for some of the injunction work she does through the Betty Griffin House Domestic Violence Shelter, but each year those funds are quickly used up yet Tania continues the work unfunded (pro bono).

■ Jay Grife, a first-time winner, attends every consumer class and interviews clients all day prior to the class twice a month. He was described as “the kind of lawyer who just picks up the phone on the spot during the client interview and tries to resolve the case — and often does!”

■ Brandon Beardsley, another first-time winner, staffs many of the monthly pro bono advice clinics and pro se forms classes. Additionally he accepts cases for full representation and will go to court and fight for those who need him the most.

■ First-time recipient Cheryl McCray staffs pro bono advice clinics and pro se classes and also accepts cases for full representation in the area of family law.

■ Virginia Morgan, another first-time recipient, is a professional ethical family law lawyer who always has one or two pro bono cases in her caseload.

■ First-time recipient Mina Bustamante agreed to accept a case five years or so ago and has been working on it ever since, it was noted in presenting her with her award. Obviously it was a doozy as she just closed it and her total hours were over 163 for just that one case.